GUWAHATI:
The hoolock gibbons, which are usually found on the southern bank of the Dibang-Brahmaputra River system, have come under threat due to habitat loss. To counter the loss, a workshop for developing an action plan for conservation of the endangered primates was conducted in Nagaland from June 9 to 10.
The primate’s population in Nagaland, which is one of the potential habitats for this species, is unfortunately threatened by both habitat fragmentation and hunting. Furthermore, the lack of baseline information and conservation awareness regarding the species is another hindrance to its conservation in the state.
The two-day workshop was conducted by the Nagaland Forest department, along with Aaranyak, a conservation organisation, with support from the IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group’s Section on Small Apes (SSA), at the State Environment and Forestry Training Institute (SEFTI), Dimapur.
Dilip Chetry, senior primatologist of the wildlife NGO, said that the status of the hoolock gibbon in Nagaland is alarming and it needs support from all quarters to survive.
He stated, that this workshop is unique and the first-of-its-kind in Nagaland where the local community from nine districts, Nagaland forest department, primatologists, experts from Bodoland University, Gauhati University, University of Science and Technology Meghalaya (USTM) and conservation organisations such as Rhino Foundation, FES, Primate Research Centre NE, together are planning for the future conservation of the hoolock gibbon in Nagaland.
The event was inaugurated and chaired by Nagaland State Biodiversity Board (NSBB) chairman Satya Prakash Tripathi and it was attended by over 40 participants from the Nagaland forest department’s different divisions.
The hoolock gibbons are three primate species of genus Hoolock in the gibbon family Hylobatidae, that are native to eastern Bangladesh, Northeast India, Myanmar, and Southwest China.